Zak Kuhr, the Most Underappreciated Coach in the NFL, Has the Patriots Defense Playing at Historic Levels

One crucial narrative around the 2025 Patriots has been one of the most under-talked about stories in all of sports this year. And for good reason. Because it involves one man's personal medical situation. 

What Patriots fans who weren't familiar with Terrell Williams before learned about him when he was hired as defensive coordinator last winter is that he's universally respected around the league, and Mike Vrabel thought enough of him to not only make him his assistant head coach in Tennessee, but give him the headset and play sheet and let him head coach the Titans' final preseason game. But that he had also battled cancer, and had to step away from the team a few times over the spring and summer. So that aside from a few practices, no one had the chance to see how he operates. But there's been constant reminders of his importance to the team in the form of the "T-Strong" insignia on Vrabel's vests and the Movember mustache he sported for a month. Followed by thoughts and prayers for a full recovery from everyone.

While Williams' situation has been sort of overlooked out of a sense of respect and privacy, what should be talked about but hasn't, is the job the interim DC has been doing all year. Linebackers coach Zak Kuhr got a battlefield promotion over the summer. And what he's done over the course of the season has been nothing short of astonishing. But Kuhr's gotten so little attention, Stephen A. Smith, who has a very lucrative career doing nothing but following sports, didn't know he exists:

Aside from the Patriots games I've gone to, I've watched and rewatched every minute of every game on TV, and can't once remember the cameras focusing on Kuhr. As opposed to, say, Rob Ryan, who got more face time every game than Travis Kelce. When he was with the Cowboys, he was shown so much the casual observer would've thought he was the head coach instead of Jason Garrett, despite the fact his defenses largely blew. But Kuhr has remained so obscure he can probably wait in line at any Dunks in Massachusetts and not draw a second look. 

But here's what his defense did this year, compared to where the Pats were last season under Jerod Mayo:

--Points allowed: 320, the 4th fewest. In 2024: 417, 22nd 

--Yards allowed: 5,019, 8th fewest. 2024: 5,829, 22nd

--Rushing yards allowed: 1,729, 6th. 2024: 2,233, 23rd.

--Net yards per pass attempt: 5.9, 14th. 2024: 64, 24th

--Turnovers: 19, 19th. 2024: 12, 30th

--Sack rate: 6.2%, 20th. 2024: 5.0%, dead last

--Passer rating: 93.1, 21st. 2024: 96.9, 26th.

There's still some room for improvement there, obviously. Some of those numbers got skewed by losing key members of the unit at all three levels, particularly Christian Gonzalez in September and Milton Williams and Robert Spillane late in the year. 

But they won 14 games regardless. And of course the same people who spent the whole season making the "weak schedule" argument will cross their skinny arms, shake their little heads, and be the same big pussies about it they have been all along. 

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Fine. Be that way. But it's what Kuhr has done with them in the postseason that can't be overlooked. The defense he commands is on a historic heater against the winningest teams the AFC could throw at them. Let me count the ways:

Yards:

Points:

Yards AND points:

Pressures and turnovers:

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Interior line:

Cornerback:

Safety:

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All of the above:

Which brings us back to Kuhr, and the job he's done Nick Furying together this group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could, these past few seasons. 

The broadcast crews and the Stephen A's of the world might have been overlooking what he's brought to the table all season. But it was on full display in Denver in front of the universe:

Source - In the second quarter Sunday against New England, the Broncos were up 7-0. They drove into the Patriots red zone. That left fourth-and-1 -- and a familiar decision. Denver had gained yardage on every play of that drive, and to that point, its defense had forced three punts. 

"I wanted 14-0," Payton later told me.

Going for it is one thing; finding a good play is another. Payton ordered 11 personnel -- one running back, one tight end and three receivers -- and from it called a running play called Nickel Duo. "A sub-run versus a sub-front," he said.

Then, Payton called timeout. He wanted to think.

Duo was Denver's top fourth-and-short run; Slipper Naked, a bootleg to the right, was its top fourth-and-short pass. He went with the pass. But at the snap, the Patriots surprised Denver by playing Red 2, a zone defense, behind a six-man front. The play had no chance. Stidham threw into traffic, incomplete. Denver not only missed out on three points but also missed out on its last, best opportunity for easy points. The Broncos never got so close to the end zone the rest of the game.

"I wish I'd stayed with the initial play call," Payton said softly, leaving the stadium. "The look they showed on film, and the look we saw, wasn't the look we got."

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So in THE high leverage situation of a conference title game, playing on the road, in the toughest environment in all of pro sports, Kuhr outwitted the opposition. And not just any play-caller, but Sean Payton. One of the greatest offensive minds of his generation and a mortal lock Hall of Famer. Kuhr was ready for what Payton dialed up, while Payton saw what Kuhr wanted him to see. But it was all a magic trick. A disguise. In truth, Payton had no idea what he was looking at and walked right into the trap. At the final table in the WSOP, Kuhr knew what cards Payton was holding, bluffed him into going all in, and stole the pot. 

All this success is probably coming too late for Kuhr to get a sniff at any head coaching job this year. But only because NFL owners tend to be too careful, too conversative, too chickenshit to see true talent until it's been dangled in front of them for two or three seasons at least. In a perfect world, Terrell Williams is back to full strength and takes his job back right after the season. But if he opts to retire for his health, the next great head coaching candidate will get another chance to prove his value. Let's hope he has a Super Bowl ring on his resume.